.

Death in the streets
Sidewalks of blood
Innocent souls
Slaughtered in the name of...

Monsters and demons
Life does not matter
Panick and fear
By heartless ******* who...

Claim it's their deed
Praising a shadow
Twisting its words
Till terror becomes...

A way of life
Behind locked doors
Under the covers
Wondering why...

All our governments do is...

Apologize

This place is toxic,
it carries a weight
that will fall in the corner
with hearts listed fragile
and feelings agape
Swallowing reason
in populist pander
Singing the praises
which bark at the moon
Touching the skin
of a lonely world traveler
Jogging the distance
in words repeated

Beware of the smiles,
the frowns and the teardrops
gathered from distant borders
Taking the spirit
along on the breezes
Casting it forth
in a starless night
with biting fireflies,
electric stingers
glowing for even
the farthest of eyes
hoping only for happiness

Take caution when
spilling emotions,
painting vistas
in cranberry sighs
for blooming gardens
don’t always offer fragrance
in its most appealing form
Thorny revisions hurt,
trickling blood on the stone
A craggy thought
which will never
be a turnip

Tread lightly where matters
of love matter
For like the magical tablecloth,
not only the silverware
and fine china
will be left sitting alone,
but so will you,
empty, unfulfilled
watching the white cotton
disappear,
yanked from your existence

This place is toxic
poetic poison drips, drips, drips
Intravenous contagions
transferred from one to the other
Building fires and fever,
blazing flesh from bone,
killing inspiration
till it is nothing more than
a pile of ash
waiting to be sifted through

.

She stole my heart
and tried to hock it,
but the pawn shop
wouldn’t give her
anything for it
because it was
broken

Feeling bad
she tried to
give it back,
but when she did
I stole hers,
she still has mine –
it’s fixed now

.

Shadows preach unending nightmares,
bent fingers probe the minds of the innocent
Scratching beneath surface rust, corroded meanings
Torches burn long faded eyes staring
into an inferno of expected fears

As I crawl, slowly, silently
along a night shrouded path
of sharp pebble and dried blood
caked existences snuffed out
ash and dew mix, a’stew in deep dish demons

My silhouette, outlined grey thread weavings
trap the fumes and stench
of last night’s vanity in pockets
filled with good versus evil
and tiny lint fragments of hope  

The horned one, painted in crimson glare
Standing tall, this breathless beast
jagged teeth, rotted flesh clings
like goat cloth on twisted branch,
thorns gouge, children weep endless

I raise my bow, shoring my aim
Straight this arrow of my lone chance
To quell this deadly dreamscape,  
slay the evil that forces men to their knees,
women to pieces of discarded disgrace

With one closed eye, I find the heart,
if blackened charred remains can be a heart
My hand trembles slight, release, flight – hit
The creature wails an unholy noise, echoing despair
through countryside canyons ablaze, collected back to hell

And clouds part, clear skies appear
Grimaced faces re-gather smiles
warmed by sun beams dancing on daisy fields once more
Stealthily I take my leave, due west
My task has only just begun

.

From up there

a flame comes,
burning through darkened skies

singeing thunderclouds
igniting mine

and their warmth
comforts me

down here

~

While fireflies wrote

a love poem
on the evening sky

your kiss
wrote one

on my heart

The squires stood the castle gate
of sword and shield they bear
Awaiting armored knights to be,
lone sentries now aware

A beating sun of torrid feel
embarked the sky this day
As voices called from eastern heights
in echoes cast away

The entrance braced of timber thick,
yon bridge drawn to the sky
To dare not open for the howl
of woodland spirit’s cry

Banished long ago it was
for evil spells it spate
Turned villagers upon themselves
in angered fits of hate

Yet on this simmered summer’s eve
the squires balked their stead
Hypnotically the whispers called
so deep within their head

Manipulated by the breeze
of kindness floating faux
‘mid promises of purity
as white as driven snow

“They cast me o’er” a voice did sift
“No fault I swear of me,
I mingled not in lone affairs
this promise comes you see”

“A certain few, low cretins all
of lies they sold as true
and pockets lined of purest gold
to do what they must do”  

“I plead a pardon so to prove
my quest is merely fair
In words of mystic wizard speak
I pledge to only share"

"Hear me, on this mystic night
of incantation's win
Stand aside this harbored fear
so I may live again”

In hazy gaze and wild look
the squires sealed the fate
‘pon lowering the bridge of wood
and opening the gate

When once within, the smile gone
as crimson eyes now stare
“I’ll bring this kingdom to its knees,
I will again, I swear”

Then sharpened claws of viper’s speed
released on angered breath
Did slice ensorcelled squire's flesh
to bleed until their death*

To be continued…maybe

I can clearly see the anger in your eyes,
hear it loudly in your voice,
taste it strongly in your bitterness,
feel it immensely in your actions,
sense it definitely in your disposition,
and I don't even know you,

now that’s power

.

Thick walls
encase me,
stationary disbelief
fogs my intentions,
straight line
foundations rise,
no windows
or doors to un-bar,
rafters feature ropes
hung in shameless
attempts
to persuade
escape, which
is not likely
because this prison
is self imposed,
and I am
the warden
as well as
the inmate
and no one
gets out
of here
alive

I didn’t know your touch

Weary days of overcast thoughts
fill the hours with empty longings
Collections of petals for counting
she loves me, she loves me not
Wandering the world,
taking each day as it comes
Blinded by destinations,
desolate highways of dotted line futures

I didn’t know your smile

When eyes opened,
drenched in fate’s promises
Marigold fields whispered
on calling breezes
Shifting sunlight shadows
leading a desperate direction,
tempting my senses,
pulling me towards my every dream

I didn’t know your love

But it was there,
lingering on the horizon,
forming ripples in my heart,
caressing my skin
A constant feather tickling,
bringing happiness to a questioning man,
wondering if I should believe,
would it ever come

I only knew that I needed you

Then when you arrived
the truth became clear
As if I knew you all along,
the mirror of my existence,
that piece of me that was missing
I didn’t know your touch, your smile or your love,
I only knew that I needed you
and now I know I was right

.

*Reaching out,
searching for a touch
in the darkness,
when alarm clocks call
beyond fitted sheets
and flattened pillow nightmares

Measured steps
through open doors,
feed empty hallways
in night light silhouettes
as destined worries
wait in the corners in plain sight

Hoping again
for a sunny day
on a dreary gray morning
finding the coffee hot
though with a bitter taste of despair
sipping between tear drop ripples

This heart
beats so lonely, slowly
my thoughts echo through barren rooms,
returning to my mind
as eyes stare out of
frost glazed windows

at a world
moving about in altered fashion
blind to the pain that washes
down the existence I carve
in silent shadows
longing for only her

.

I don’t recognize my footprints anymore,
flashcubes and Kodak moments
distort my sight, blinding so  
I barely recognize my name,
as if anyone might call
on the gusts of barren life which hit me full force

Lost in a silent thought  
bouncing from shutter to shutter
blistering paint and chipping sorrows
outside the windows, smeared in tears
now resting on dampened sills
reflecting negative images, as I stare

Photographic headlines swing on wire fences
twisted around overexposed dreams,
rusting in the rain, falling piece by tiny piece
until words read like fragmented sentences
in amber speckles on the walk,  
asking me to believe

A three legged cat begs for a mouse,
yet the only thing held in this trap is me,
a rat in poetic clothing
as Tripod claws at my leathered skin
trying to erase the scars, captured in the lens
which mocks me – say cheese

.

Shaking a fountain pen’s
syrup from fizzing wounds
scarred with another’s words
misspelled of meaning
flavored in temperance
swallowed with pride
flowing through a straw
of sugar-free regrets

.

With a brilliant moonbeam

as our spotlight
and the stars our audience

we kissed passionately

listening as our
heartbeats became

our applause

.

Where from this the door now ******,
creaking screams align the mire
Loosened shadows cough the dust
within a world now set afire

Worry gathers in the mist,
along a crooked staircase rise
Nooses hang from rafter’s twist,
while portraits gaze through swollen eyes

Atone the stench of fevers past,
sweat does stream of wallowed reach
From moors the lines of wretched cast
in lessons taught but not to teach

Break this bread in mirrored shards,
slurp your lime serrated drink
Write as if a napkin bard,
any thought with which you think

Last, these days of sorted lanes,
walking chains and lockets bore
Weakness in your heart now claims
of a time you lived before

Stare the darkness now you keep,
forcing out a sad regret
You shall sow the fear you reap
as the night collects your debt

I carved my existence
from the bark of an old oak tree
while squirrels gawked and
carpenter ants ate my lunch
in a fevered frenzy of
crisscrossing lines
that to some would
appear poetic

Camp Johnson Crossing
Tire swings and cattails
Tall grass and oak trees
Chasing rabbits and picking flowers
Lily pads and orange soda
Pigtails and slingshots
Rolled up jeans and her hand
Wet toes and sunshine
Bubblegum and promises
First kiss and moonlight
Worn paths and carved initials
Fingers and buttons
Love and life
Teardrops and good-byes
Moments and memories
Camp Johnson Crossing

leapt into a silver lining
clouding intentions
voicing a disdain
for thunderstorms
when thunder
is quieter than a library
throwing every book
at the innocent

sidestepping downpours
while dampened pages
stick together
concealing proof
that false judgment reigns
and sunny days
are written in another chapter

.
Vibrations loosen
the dust on my piano,
releasing tiny particles
into a rectangle sunbeam
dancing about the glass,
while I play sad love songs
on freeform keys,
fingered imagination
frantically moving
levers in never before
heard melodies
with a locked
sustain pedal
holding each note
to gradually
evanesce
into silence,
as the dust
once again
settles

In lyrical fashion they fall of this gypsy soul
rehearsed longings, song-like reminders
Days long of time in the mind of a charmer,
memories threaded, stitched of fears
Aching endeavors form each step of the procession
slowly along the sorted byways of life,
aged in moments of eternal passing
Crooked lines predict faultless failures,
staggered footprints hide from the light,
cloaked in brocade emotions
on a winding trail of the forgotten
Stained in petrified tears
the sorrowed breadcrumbs are scattered
never to die, again

.

Carolina blues
Drunk again on a Wednesday night
Brown paper bag caressing lips
Liquid courage, seeing double
Four feet
Slouched on a red brick façade
Dumpster diner close by
Rented flat leased to another cockroach
Slurred stanzas
Closed curtains watching
Pathetic shouted from passing cars
Worthless has zero value
Begging pennies
Goodwill socks smell bad
Preaching lies of belief
***** creates colorful puddles
Like poetry
Written in liquor store neon
Fading streetlights glow yellow
Shining down on green with envy
Carolina blues

.

*Oh the bliss of heaven’s reaching,
formed upon this fertile ground
Lingering desires touch us,
felt of love we now have found

Morning Glories, gentle weaving
velvet blooms in midday blue
Climbing higher, painted visions,
beauty as I find in you

‘fore the sunrise, silent breathing,
passion dawns within your smile
Strolling ’tween the dew drop wishes
here with you a little while

Morning shines her new beginning,
sweetly we embrace the day
Lost in love and nature’s wisdom,
witnessing her grand display

.

Hide behind those rooftops
Staring down upon the crowd
Tossing little messages
You dare not say aloud

Looking over shoulders
Every shadow that you see
Assuming something lurking
Like a long lost refugee

Stir the *** of sewage
That along the street does flow
All will know the truth is there
In spite of what you show

Spread it to the audience
Or anyone who hears
Fuel the mass confusion
As you amplify their fears

Silence can be golden
Though it’s not your chosen art
As a stone that cries for moss
the rolling soon will start

Clinging to a chimney
Spewing signals made of smoke
From the fire down below
Conspiracies now stoke

Leave these happy people be
They’re none of your concern
Questioning the same as me
When will you ever learn

.

Driving by,
lost on a side street
directly in the middle
of where I never wanted to be

Clamoring at the expectations
strewn along the curb
between the broken dishwasher
and empty beer cans

Where neighborhood gnomes
painted gaily colors
wave as if they know me,
but I ignore them – sort of

There is one though
with a hollow bookish smile
that seems familiar
or is it the tulips

A wooden staircase,
worn planks in a grey stain
lead to an entrance where an ornate
metal light fixture sways in the breeze

Your porch used to look like that
but this door is standing open
behind a welcome mat with a clover,
wish I hadn’t lost that rabbit’s foot

Maybe I am lucky after all,
just found a spot with ten minutes
remaining on the meter, forget it,
it took me fifteen minutes to park

The empty passenger seat
still holds your form,
at least I can see it -
Corinthian leather never forgets

A speed bump at 40 mph
rattles me back behind the wheel
when I see the bank clock flashes 5:00 pm,
still offering a free toaster

And that’s it, another Sunday afternoon
wasted as much as I am,
spinning my wheels
with just enough gas to get back home,

alone

.

Someone said, “Hey Stephan,
what’s up with all this love
It seems in every poem
that’s what you’re thinking of

Why are you always dreaming,
why is it you can’t see
That love is just a legend,
a made up fallacy

The world is filled with evil,
don’t you watch the news
CNN or NBC
or others you can choose

Clinton is a liar,
Trump is just a creep
They’ll both destroy the nation
for fortunes that they reap

Murders by the thousands,
death is in the streets
I can’t believe you haven’t seen
within the many tweets

Our water is polluted,
we’re choking on the air
They even have new bathrooms
for every one to share

Prices through the ceiling,
paychecks in the ground
Protesters are screaming,
you can hear them all around

There’s war in other countries
Servers have been hacked
Innocent bystanders
Caught in the attack

Drugs are running rampant,
****** is king
Coming through the border,
such a nasty thing

Little kids are crying,
not enough to eat
Living in the squalor,
sleeping in the street

So tell me, will you Stephan,
what’s up with what you write
Every poem filled with love,
morning, noon and night"

I looked at him a moment
and with all honesty
I said to him, "I’m sorry sir,
were you talking to me?

I was lost writing this poem
for one I do adore
I didn’t hear you talking,
could you please say it once more?"

**He just walked away shaking his head

.

This is just another night
Lonely streets and flashing neon
Shadows moving, no eye contact
Brick facades push away steam

Walking slowly on dampened sidewalks
Head hung low wondering
Why this feeling continues, this crawl
Lost within the halls of my heart

Broken lines with no exit
Foreclosed affection in headlines
Written on the palm of my hand
Smearing in tear drops wiped

Yesterday was like a dream
You were mine, smiling, laughing
Sharing a day at the park on a painted bench
Watching silent paddle boats sleep

A May sun glistened on still waters
And birds sung softly overhead
When something was off, out of place… pieces
Our silhouettes slowly faded to one

Watching my sneakers form ruts
Swinging nervously back to front
Kicking dust up in my stomach
Where butterflies change to stone

Waiting for you, a setting sun
Flamed drizzling on my shoulders
Slumped reflections on a westward sky
As I still search to the north

Yes, this is just another night
Followed by just another day
An agonizing repetitive pattern
An agonizing repetitive pattern

.

It’s better than chocolate cake
drenched in whipped cream
A day off to sleep in
almost until noon
A warm summer day
near a slow moving stream
The stars in the sky
and a smiling moon

The juiciest steak
prepared medium rare
Seeing your team
win the championship
Watching a kite
as it floats in the air
Making a milkshake
and taking a sip

A trip to the beach
with a cooler of beer
Skiing the slopes
on a fresh coat of snow
Expecting rain
but then finding it clear
It’s so much better
I want you know

In case you wonder
what all of this means
What you now see
in the phrases above
Nothing, not even
my wildest dreams
Could ever be better
than feeling her love

.

Here, as the dark city glistens,
rain pelts unsuspecting sidewalks,
filling cracks and running gutters
Disguising potholes in black,
snickering as they wait silently
to startle the next drowsy driver to pass by

Neon reflects in puddles of discontent
while high rise lights
flicker in kitchens above where
cold water seems to be the answer
as groggy eyes fiddle with leftover decisions
making more noise than can be heard

3 am, desolate, just a few cats
rummage in alleys for unsuspecting rats
and other rodents who have sold their dreams
for a temporary high, plastic bag desires
that come morning will seek revenge
as hands once more will be out promising redemption,
counting brown leather wing tips and Prada heels

I stop at the old library slated for demolition,
tracing the lopsided heart with our initials
that I carved into the brown brick
as you kept a look out so we wouldn’t get caught
Laughing at the dust that gathered on my shoes,
Telling me it would be forever
not the dust, us
(the dust is still there)

Lonely is a state of mind
for those who stagger these concrete caverns,
unable to sleep
Finding opened eyed nightmares
resemble those that they now run from,
hoping the next corner holds the key
to the past when nights were spent
under warm covers, in soft arms,
not walking alone, not dying, not
here, as the dark city glistens